Wiki Unseen, a game changer in the documentation of Black History

In the wake of biases and stereotypes that often characterize the history of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and the inadequacies in their visual representations, The Wikimedia Foundation in collaboration with AfroCROWD.org, a Wikipedia-volunteer led initiative has launched Wiki Unseen, an initiative aimed at preserving the heritage of BIPOCs.

The first phase of Wiki Unseen will foster collaborations with artists from Africa, America, and the Caribbean to expand the visual representation of BIPOC in Wikimedia projects and advance knowledge equity. This is a call for more volunteers from these regions to support the visual representation movement.

The Foundation hopes to continue to call on volunteers and artists from around the globe to redraw history while adding illustrations to biographies of underrepresented African stories.

Speaking in an interview, Brand Collaborations Lead at the Wikimedia Foundation, Tas Elias, expressed optimism in the ability of this flagship initiative to project the history of BIPOCs devoid of stereotypes & biases while filling in visual knowledge gaps of BIPOCs.

“The lack of visibility of African communities within the wider media ecosystem limits what is written about them and how they are seen. They are often subject to bias and stereotyping. How we tell stories about black people matters; and history, considering the fact that it is written by humans, is vulnerable to human biases. To remedy this situation, there is the need to catalyze greater coverage of Black people’s history in journalism, research, academia, social media, and the visual arts and change how their stories are told.

We are aware of the inequalities in opportunity and representation experienced by many groups around the world and we acknowledge the critical role of visual illustrators, as part of Wiki Unseen, in documenting world history.”

Mr. Elias reiterated the unwavering commitment of the Wikimedia Foundation to the preservation of BIPOCs heritages through initiatives to promote knowledge equity. In his submission, he highlighted the critical role of society in the success of Wiki-Unseen and called on Ghanaians for the needed support.

“The Wikimedia Foundation has made an explicit commitment to “Knowledge Equity” and Wiki Unseen is a part of this. That commitment enshrines in all our work a goal to support knowledge and communities that have been left out by structures of power and privilege, and break down the social, political, and technical barriers preventing people from accessing and contributing to free knowledge.

Wiki Unseen will only be as successful as how society engages and participates in this initiative. It is an open invitation to call on society at large to join hands with the Wikimedia Foundation and contribute to preserving the heritage of BIPOCs. Therefore, we’re calling on brands and institutions to empower and support artists to fill in visual knowledge gaps whether that’s with artwork or photography” he stated.

Commenting on project dynamics, the brand collaborations lead emphasized that the project was open to all, irrespective of age.

“The beauty of Wiki Unseen is that anyone can be part of it and there are no age limits. Our doors are always open to any member of society who would like to come on board. Interested persons can log on to http://unseen.wikimedia.org for more details.” he said.